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At least 17 killed in Iraq violence

At least 17 people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday in car bomb attacks that targeted mainly police in several areas across Iraq, reported security officials and local media, dpa reported.

Two policemen were killed and five injured when a car bomb exploded in the east of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, reported the independent Al Furat news agency.

Two civilians were killed and nine injured in a car bombing near a Shiite shrine in the area of al-Maadan south-east of Baghdad, added the agency, citing security sources.

Elsewhere, three car bombs were detonated in the town of Taji, some 25 kilometres north of Baghdad, leaving at least seven people dead and 22 injured, said security sources.

Six policemen were killed and five injured in a suicide car bombing near a checkpoint in the city of Kut, some 180 kilometres south-east of Baghdad, medics said.

Meanwhile, the chief of police in the province of Diyala north-east of Baghdad survived an assassination attempt. A car bomb exploded as he drove by, reported Al Furat News Agency. Four civilians were injured in this attack, according to the report.

Five civilians were injured when a parked car exploded in a marketplace in the town of Baquba, some 57 kilometres north east of Baghdad.

In the town of Mosul, some 400 kilometres north of Baghdad, 15 people, including a soldier, were injured in a car bombing, said police.

Although violence has dropped from its peak in 2006, attacks have become almost daily occurrences in Iraq this year.

Eighty-eight people were killed in a wave of bombings across Iraq on September 9, marking the highest death toll since the US forces withdrew from the country in December.